Combine and Roll Out
by Hakluyt
Summary: The Planeteers confront Zarm and Doctor Blight as they raid energy production around the world. But they're all caught in a war bigger than Earth, and a battle for Hope Island will determine the fate of both Earth and Cybertron!
1. Chapter 1

Doctor Barbara Blight was the most disreputable scientist since Mengele. Human experimentation, WMDs, even a few attempts at mangling the space-time continuum itself were not beyond her. She was 'holed up' in a luxury house-come-lab in Mauritius.

"Dearest Doctor," said an oily but simulated voice, "I have made contact."

Jumping up from her divan, the curvaceous scientist rearranged her hair to cover the mutilated side of her face. "Stupendous, MAL, sweetie," she cooed to the sinister face on the screen, which was attached to a massive bank of hard drives. Her artificial intelligence ally and darling was tied into the household, communications satellites and the internet, and had still been able to handle the minutiae of the plan Blight was shortly to enact.

The face on the screen vanished abruptly, and another, on a video feed, appeared. A hard, craggy, arrogant face that gazed imperiously at Blight.

"Zarm," Blight smirked, "you actually came back."

"You seem surprised," he said flatly.

"Well, for yet another time Captain Planet and the Planet-brats put you off the Earth. I thought you might have given up."

Blight had allied with Zarm before, when he organized many of those the Planeteers regularly fell foul of to disrupt the Earth Summit and defeat them. Zarm held a long-time grudge against Gaia, the mysterious 'spirit of the Earth' who had given the Planeteers their powers.

"I had," said Zarm. "but, having resumed wandering the galaxy, I was, shall we say, inspired."

"Well, anyway," said Blight, "MAL and I have the theory of the plan in place, but the Planeteers will land on us in no time. It hardly seems worth bothering when I could have a perfectly good smuggling ring going!"

"As if," smirked Zarm, "you could resist having a weapon of mass destruction."

Blight allowed herself a smile of her own, "True enough. When do we proceed?"

"Affairs are already in progress. I arrived on Earth two weeks ago."

"Two weeks!" Blight squawked, "What are you waiting for?"

"I have certain…perquisites. But these are already prepared. The power station will be going online in two days, and our victory with it!"

Sunup over the Indian Ocean. The sea was calm and the sun shone hot. And over it, the round, winged, yellow shape of the Geo-Cruiser raced over the blue; in the distance, volcanic cones rose into the sky.

The Planeteers were en route to the island of Reunion, where they had been invited by an old ally.

Kwame, Linka, Wheeler, Gi and Ma-Ti were accustomed by this time to being at the cutting edge of technology, since much of it was now made with the priority of safeguarding the natural world, which the Planeteers swore to protect. Equally, such technology was liable to be hijacked by those who detested an opposition to their own profits, or wanted to pervert the innovation.

Wheeler frowned at the densely printed pamphlet he was reading in consternation. "Okay, somebody's gotta break this down for me: what is 'microwave energy' and what does it do beside make my popcorn?"

"It is," Kwame said with patience only the Planeteers' de facto leader could display, "a form of clean energy, being attempted at Reunion for the first time."

"Swell," he said, "but what is it?"

Gi chimed in, "It's a way of harvesting the energy of the sun, but more intense than regular solar power, because the solar energy is collected by a network of satellites in orbit, and then it's turned into microwaves and beamed straight down to a ground station where it becomes electricity!"

"Da," said Linka, looking up from a physics book, "while sunlight that strikes the Earth's surface has been diffused and filtered, the satellites can take the energy straight from the Sun!"

Wheeler confessed himself impressed, but little Ma-Ti, ever wisely hesitant, remarked, "But, if this is the same type of energy as microwave ovens use, would it not be very dangerous?"

"Not at all," Linka replied, "the energy that strikes the ground is still quite faint, but once it is collected, the collection becomes very large very quickly."

Wheeler smiled absently, enjoying Linka's knowledgeable talking, or at least her richly accented voice. She noticed his distraction and muttered in Russian exasperation.

"`Reunion coming up now," Gi announced from the pilot's seat.

When Gaia had directed the Planeteers to the island near Mauritius, Linka had called it a 'land of tragedy.' The passionate admirer of birds had explained at length the process that brought about the extinction of the Mauritius' Dodos.

But Reunion was beautiful regardless. Verdant forests were punctuated by the natural sculpture of black volcanic craters.

The Geo-Cruiser began a gentle descent. Suddenly, however, the Geo-cruiser yawed in the slipstreams of two fighter jets that screamed out of nowhere past them, swooping down over Reunion.

"What they heck," Wheeler yelled in consternation, flailing his arms.

Linka was sharp, "What is the matter with those pilots?"

"What are fighter planes even doing here?" Ma-Ti yelped, cradling his badly frightened pet monkey, Suchi.

"Military coverage," said Gi evenly, "Remember the disappearances."

Indeed, Gaia had discussed with them the mysterious disappearances of half a dozen cargo planes and three supertankers carrying oil out of the Persian Gulf in the past two weeks.

"They're afraid of being attacked," Wheeler nodded, "that's smart. I can think of some Eco-villains who'd like to get hold of this power plant."

"And with good reason," Kwame pointed, his eyes wide, "Look!"

On a plateau below one of the volcanoes stood the station. It was a massive receiver dish, alongside a large concrete building which presumably held the monitoring equipment and power cells.

The landscape around the station was scorched, and a car seemed to be on fire. On the helipad behind the dish was a vividly pink airship.

"Doctor Blight," Gi spat. Her vain and ostentatious style was unmistakable.

"Gi," cried Kwame, "land on the terrace above the station, quickly."

"Watch out," Linka said, "there's a bird in the way."

It was true. A large, dark, winged shape was circling the power cell building. As they grew closer, it suddenly ceased its gliding circles and charged straight at them! It whooshed past the Geo-Cruiser, and the deck lurched violently a second time. A circuit box in the roof sparked and flashed, then smoldered.

Gi managed to land the Geo-Cruiser roughly, but without crashing it. They leaped out, ready for action. Linka was fretting as she moved to inspect the damage, fully expecting the hull to be smeared with blood and feathers.

But no, to their astonishment, they found the hull was scorched like the landscape below. The outer hull had been burned through, leaving twin long gashes like fiery claw marks.

Below them, the tarmac around the station was a melee. Soldiers and officials were scrambling, apparently firing on the bird-creature which was flying skyward again.

The Planeteers half-ran, half-slid down the slope and as they neared the crowds, Kwame cried, "Don't shoot! We're the Planeteers! We're here to help!"

"Planeteers! Thank heavens!" A deep, accented voice cried.

"Clash," Cried the Planeteers as one.

Commander Clash, a former New Zealand marine corps intelligence officer, now a UN Special Ops officer, approached them, his dress uniform dusty and his sidearm drawn.

"I was hoping I could invite you to be guests of honor at the opening," Clash gasped, his expression badly shaken, "but they attacked!"

"What the heck is that," cried Wheeler, "that robo-bird thing?"

"No idea. Oh! The backup's arriving…is that ALL?"

Behind them, coming up the winding road below them, was a large van, the kind that SWAT teams use for mobile command centres.

"Why do you need backup," Gi frowned, scanning the skies, "Why haven't the jets tried to shoot it down?"

"They're coming back," Kwame pointed to the sky above the valley, where the bird-thing was roaring downward, the silhouettes of the jets flanking it.

"Because," Clash gasped, waving to his men to take cover while shepherding the Planeteers with his other arm, "they're on the same side!"

Ahead of the jets and the bird, a salvo of lances of violet light and smoke-trailing rockets rained down on them. A machine-gun operator dove from the back of his jeep as the violet beams caused it to burst into flames, the gasoline, plastics and munitions igniting. One of the rockets destroyed an official car. When the three attackers screeched overhead, the air was full of oily smoke and the cries of wounded people.

Linka raised her ring hand. "We cannot defend ourselves if we cannot see. Wind!"

A sudden gust of air pinned the smoke down to the ground and drove it over the edge of the plateau.

"Fall back to the station!" Clash shouted.

As they crowds began heading toward the power station, the SWAT truck arrived. The Planeteers were at first inclined to relief, but they had to dash clear as the truck did not slow down. The sleek dark blue and silver truck, its roof arrayed in antennae and dishes roared across the tarmac, scattering fragments of wreckage and broken asphalt, dispersing the crowed yet again. It braked hard and spun around between the crowd and the entrance to the station.

The Planeteers stopped short, partly covered by the security booth at the parking lot entrance, the barricade of which the truck had just smashed through.

Linka regarded the SWAT van. She didn't know the hallmarks of the Reunion constabulary, but there was something definitely peculiar about this van. First of all, there only seemed to be one person, the driver, inside the cab, and he was staring impassively into the middle distance. Second, the logo on the radiator, where the manufacturer's mark usually goes on cars, was not one she recognized. It was a sort of abstract face that resembled a skull or perhaps a bird of prey – hard to tell.

"Wheeler," she said, sure that his American sensibilities would give him an eye for cars, "do you…"

Wheeler had been listening attentively to Linka, but then something happened that made his brain seize up.

It was not that something happened which stretched the limits of his credulity – his years as a planeteer had shown him some pretty out-there things. Rather, what happened seemed to him to violate the very tenets of spatial logic.

The SWAT Truck, so it seemed, collapsed. Not into component wheels and fenders and panels, but into blocky segments, like a dismembered Rubik's Cube. Its very hull seemed to separate along invisible seams.

Then, as the Planeteers watched in dumbstruck shock, the disorderly segments rearranged themselves, jointed into each other, piling up on each other, taking new shape. Clear shapes arose of a large, square leg, a broad chest, an armored arm.

"What the blazes," Clash breathed. What stood before them now was undoubtedly a robot. It stood about twenty-five feet tall. The radiator grille was now in its chest, proudly displaying its jagged emblem. Its head looked helmeted, with a prow-shaped mask where a mouth and nose ought to be, and a red visor replacing eyes.

"Jeepers," Wheeler yelled, "it's a robot!"

"You don't say, Yankee," Linka snapped.

Wheeler stepped forward and spoke loudly to the robot, which was standing impassively where it had…transformed.

"Hey! Robot! What's going on? Do you know why those planes are shooting at us?"

"You are a true diplomat Wheeler," Kwame remarked blandly.

But the robot replied, "Affirmative." It spoke in a modulated monotone.

"Incoming!" Clash cried. The jets and the bird were coming in over the receiver dish. The bird-thing passed over, but the jets suddenly went nose up and plummeted toward the ground.

The Planeteers recoiled, ready to run from the imminent explosion, but were not altogether surprised when the jets both suddenly folded in half, limbs separating off their superstructures.

The impassive first robot was now flanked by two more, slightly taller ones. Their chestplates were formed from the cockpits. The wings crossed behind their backs and they had what could only be weapons mounted on their squared forearms. Their faces were more human, eyes ruby-crystal red, and their expressions seemingly arrogant. One was colored in red and silver, the other in blue and black.

The red one spoke to the first robot, "There's no need to speak to the flesh-creatures, Soundwave," he spoke in a screeching voice like, well, like a jet engine. He looked skyward and shouted, "Lazerbeak, return to base!" He looked at the other two, "Thundercracker, open the power station. Soundwave! Prepare the energon cubes!"

The second jet robot, apparently named Thundercracker, moved toward the large building that housed the power cells. It had a fifty-foot-high loading door at one end, which Thundercracker casually ripped off like it was cardboard. The one called Soundwave spread its hands about ten feet apart in front of itself, and a semi-transparent, hollow cube materialized between them. It set it down, and then produced another, then another.

Gi charged forward, shouting, "What are you doing?" The other Planeteers and Clash followed.

The red jet robot stepped into their path, pointing its arm-mounted weapon at them. "Not so fast, flesh creature!"

Wheeler acted first, raising his ring and shouting "Fire!"

A hot ray shot from his ring and struck the robot's own weapon, setting it glowing yellow-hot.

The robot yelled in pain (funny thing for a robot to do, Wheeler thought) and stepped back a few paces. "Insolent organic," it howled, "you dare to attack Starscream? You will suffer for this!"

He stopped and took a swipe at them. They ran, with Clash yelling, "Quick, head into the power plant!"

Soundwave and Thundercracker had moved away from the entrance to the station's control centre under the dish. They heard Soundwave's voice say, "Ravage, eject. Operation: apprehend."

They ran down into the station's control centre, a room of a thousand switches and arcane data displays. One of the screens showed the sinister face of MAL, Blight's AI acolyte, accessing the station's computer through the cable to her ship.

She spun round from where she was working, gun in hand, "Too late, Planet-pests," she jeered. She looked haggard for all her arrogance. She'd even neglected to cover her scarred face.

"Blight," Clash snarled, "I see one corrupted AI servant isn't sufficient for your megalomania."

"I protest," crackled MAL, "I am the good Doctor's exclusive servant!"

"That jet-storm party upstairs and I have...a mutual protection pact, I suppose. Most of them can't get down here to operate the controls, so they got me. They get a fresh supply of those energon-cube things of theirs, and I get a weapon: those satellites. I crank their output into overdrive and reprogram their targeting scanners, and I can roast anyone who stands against me! Including Hope Island, of course!"

The Planeteers were horror-struck. Hope Island, Gaia's domain, their headquarters, their home!

Wheeler again took charge, "Not if I roast you first! F..."

Before he activated his ring, something crashed through the Planeteers and stood between them and Blight.

It was a massive mechanical black panther, pneumatic pistons in place of muscles, eyes blood red LEDs, the jagged emblem printed on its shoulders. It also had something unsettlingly like a rocket launcher mounted on one hip.

"Thank you, Ravage," Blight said shortly, and returned to work. She opened a communication channel, "Decepticons, you may begin filling the energon cubes."

Wheeler in particular had to stop himself springing forward to stop Blight, but at the first quiver of action, Ravage snarled and advanced menacingly. Ma-Ti stepped forward, looking even smaller than usual beside the living mechanism. "Heart." He activated his ring, trying to reach the creature's mind, perhaps to persuade it to change sides.

What Ma-Ti encountered was a consciousness (itself surprising since this was a machine) which, despite its animalistic appearance, was as wily and curious as a human, but also cruel and fanatically logical. There was no appealing to it.

However, it seemed to detect Ma-Ti's intrusion, and began snarling and clearly preparing to spring. Clash remarked, "Time for a tactical retreat!"

They rattled back up the metal stairs with Ravage at their heels.

"Get back to the Geo-Cruiser," Kwame shouted.

As they emerged back onto the tarmac, Linka spun and yelled, "Wind!"

A gust blew the doors shut behind them. The metal doors bowed out a second later and they heard a tinny howl of rage.

The Geo-Cruiser was still high on the slope. The three giant robots were doing something in the power station, and the cubes Soundwave had been producing were now being filled with a soft, shimmering luminescence.

"Stop them," yelled Starscream.

Soundwave turned. Clash and the Planeteers ducked and sprinted as the ground around them was peppered with incendiary ammunition that seared their hair and skin. They made it halfway up the volcanic hillside, their shoes sinking deep into the gritty black soil.

Soundwave's radiator/chest plate suddenly sprang open like an old tape deck. A shape not unlike a huge videocassette launched out, and immediately began changing. When it hit the ground, it was a blocky humanoid about eight feet tall, with massive pistons mounted on its forearms.

Soundwave intoned, "Rumble, activate pile drivers, operation: landslide."

The smaller robot, Rumble, began pounding its pistons on the ground. The force of the impact was like an earthquake. The Planeteers' arms windmilled and they scrambled desperately as the ground beneath them began to slide in sheets down the hill, where Ravage had now arrived, having smashed the plant doors open.

Some parts of the hill slid faster than others, and Gi and Clash, the right-most of the six, finally tumbled over backwards and rolled to the bottom of the hill.

"Gi!" Kwame cried.

"Commander," Ma-Ti wailed.

Gi scrambled halfway to her feet, then froze as Ravage growled at her. Rumble marched over and planted one of his pistons on Clash's chest, pinning him and making him gasp for breath.

"Gi!" Kwame yelled from the hillside, "Let our powers combine!"

Kwame pointed his ring above Gi and Ravage and commanded, "Earth!"

"Fire!" Wheeler matched his aim and followed.

"Wind," Linka added.

From below Gi sent her power skyward, "Water!"

"Heart," Ma-Ti ended the sequence.

The beams from their rings converged above where Rumble and Ravage had pinned Gi and Clash. There was a flash and a thunderclap, and then a voice reverberating around the valley: "By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!"

The Captain, the sum of the Planeteer's powers, appeared, his skin crystalline blue, his red clothing and green hair making him a striking figure. He surveyed the scene with his usual calm humour. "Whoa!" Captain Planet remarked, "It's the War of the Robots here today!"

Ravage had been watching Planet, and if he'd had hackles, they would have been raised. He coiled and leaped up to where Captain Planet floated. The Captain caught his front claws, and swung the mecha-cat around, "Bad kitty," he quipped as Ravage tumbled down the road to the valley.

"What is it?" Rumble cried in a tinny, nasal voice.

"I don't know," Starscream said, approaching, "but I don't like it!" He swung his hand as if making an underarm throw and a rocket blasted out and struck Captain Planet. It threw him back quite a ways, but as always, he weathered it.

"Nice try, jet-breath," he taunted Starscream, and then flew like a missile himself right at the giant robot. He knocked Starscream right off his feet. "I don't know what your game is," the Captain said, pinning one of Starscream's arms, "but nobody hijacks clean energy projects on my planet, or shoots my Planeteers!"

Captain Planet took to the air again to dodge a swipe from Soundwave. Thundercracker was still filling energon cubes, although hurriedly.

Flying up to his level, Captain Planet upper-cut-punched Soundwave, knocking him off balance, then grabbing his arm and flipping him over with an almighty crash.

Starscream was on his feet again by now. The Kwame and Wheeler descended the slope to recover Clash and Gi. Captain Planet was stopped in his pummeling of Soundwave by a call from Ma-Ti, "Captain Planet, you must stop Doctor Blight!"

Captain Planet seized Soundwave by his massive ankles and tossed him over the fence along the Cliffside, then half-ran, half-flew down into the power plant.

"Rumble, Ravage, pursue!"

There was a dull crash from inside the power plant, and a moment later Dr. Blight's airship took off somewhat crazily, spewing exhaust in its wake.

Captain Planet however, had to come around rather than pursue. The Planeteers were still in the robots' line of fire.

"He's coming back," Thundercracker warned, emerging from the power cell housing with a stack of the scintillating cubes.

Rumble and Ravage staggered up from the control room. Apparently Captain Planet had given them their what-for.

"Never mind," Starscream barked, "We've filled the Energon Cubes!"

The Planeteers could hear sirens wailing below. Clearly the actual backup was on its way at last.

Captain Planet descended on the three robots, "I'll fill a recycling bin with the lot of you!"

Starscream looked skyward and saw Captain Planet descending upon them. He lazily turned to face the oncoming superhero/spiritual being.

"Are you indeed? You play well at tossing us about, but how do you weather my null-ray?"

Starscream pointed his arm (the opposite one that Wheeler had injured) and fired right at Captain Planet. The ray was like a kind of strobe laser. The Planeteers were shocked and horrified to see Planet recoil, moving spasmodically, and then drop. He bounced off the edge of the receiver dish and landed in a heap.

Captain Planet's weaknesses were well known to them, but this was unlike anything they'd every seen!

Rumble ran toward a dazed-looking Soundwave, and leaped back into his chest compartment, resuming the form of cassettes.

Ravage, however, leaped towards the Planeteers. With Captain Planet still manifest but disabled, their rings were non-functional and they were helpless.

Ravage roared and leaped towards the Planeteers.

"No!" Clash threw himself in the path. Ravage clamped his jaws on his jacket and hurled him over his shoulder. Soundwave had returned to his truck form, and Clash landed right in the rear cargo bay.

The Planeteers jumped and ran for the hillside again. But there was a shrill scream, and they saw Gi being dragged back in Ravage's jaws. Kwame jumped at Ravage with a yell of rage. Ravage gained enough speed and bounded into the truck, Gi dragging alongside him. The truck doors slammed shut.

"Gi!" the Planeteers cried out.

"Decepticons," Starscream commanded, "Withdraw!"

Thundercracker and Starscream did back flips into the air, stacks of cubes in their arms, which became engulfed in their structures as they transformed back into jets. Starscream took off at full throttle, while Thundercracker swooped down and clamped onto Soundwave, taking off over the valley.

"Planeteers," came Captain Planet's feeble voice in their minds, "I have no fear for Gi and Clash. You can save them, but I'm out of the game for now. The Power is Yours…"

There was a brief aura around his form, and he disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

The erratic flight path and sometimes somewhat tenuous grip the jet seemed to have on the truck in which they were held was giving Gi a rare case of motion sickness…or possibly just fear. Ravage was sitting in the front end of the hold, regarding her and Clash with something that seemed like disdain.

"Well…I've never had the jailer lock themselves in the cell with me."

"Actually," said Commander Clash, "the jailer is the cell on this occasion. That's just the guard dog."

Ravage seemed to find this offensive and snarled his metallic snarl. Gi recoiled a little. "I guess you're not the talkative sort," she remarked. "Clash, do you have any idea where we're headed?"

He shrugged, "We're going southeast. We could be heading to Sri Lanka, or Anarctica by a very long route."

But they soon felt themselves descending, and, out the back window, they saw that they had landed on some kind of deck in the middle of the ocean!

"An aircraft carrier?" Clash wondered aloud.

Just then the doors of the truck opened and a growl from Ravage shepherded them out onto the deck.

The ocean wind buffeted Gi, making even her relatively short-cut hair billow around her. From horizon to horizon was nothing but ocean, no land in sight. Such an experience, under different circumstances, would have exhilarated her, but just at the moment, she was entrenched in anxiety over her situation and fearful bewilderment at the sight of the jets and truck now transforming into enormous robotic humanoids around her.

They were standing on very large platform that was indeed not unlike the deck of an aircraft carrier. Gi could see past Soundwave's legs that a large square section of the deck was descending like an open-top elevator. However, this deck was seemingly only a dozen or so feet above the waterline, roughly round-shaped, and made of a kind of matte-purple sheeting of something that seemed to resemble both metal and leather.

Starscream pronounced pompously, "I fail to see the use to the Decepticons of these flesh-creatures."

"You will, Starscream," remarked a voice, "stand aside."

The great robot moved slightly and revealed…

"Zarm," cried Clash and Gi together.

The former Earth spirit, now a self-styled war god, who had repeatedly incited war and strife on Earth, and was known to have destroyed the civilization of the last world he patronized. Captain Planet had seen him off the Earth several times before.

"Yes, Planeteer, Commander Clash," he strode forward. There was something different about him: he was cold and arrogant as always, but he wasn't swaggering or sneering. His expression was very hard, and there was a certain something missing in his posture.

"Driven from Earth by you and Gaia and Captain Planet, I wandered out into the galaxy, until at last I stumbled upon Cybertron, homeland of the Decepticons, a race of calculating, ruthless warriors who take what they desire. They seek Earth's energy sources to fuel their armies."

"And you handed Earth and its people over to this plundering? You tried to empower Doctor Blight to help them?" Clash was quivering with rage.

"I claimed my revenge," Zarm said, raising his voice for the first time, "the plundering of the Earth and its descent into war - and at no small cost, either!"

"Our little pet war god," Thundercracker sneered, "He tried playing around with what he thought was a perimeter defense cannon. He got a shock when General Shockwave transformed right out from under him!"

"But your aspiration of a superweapon to bring about war fell rather short," Starscream remarked, "when these juveniles defeated your supposed 'brilliant scientist' and humiliated us!"

"You have what you wanted," Zarm demanded, "Energon cubes! And we have prisoners which will prove a useful resource…"

"Doctor Blight incoming," Soundwave interrupted, pointing skyward. The offensively pink airship whooshed down onto the deck, landing roughly a short distance away from Gi and Commander Clash.

The engines hadn't even finished powering down when Doctor Blight stormed out, followed by a computer monitor mounted on an armature, displaying MAL's CG visage.

"What are you doing, you idiots!" She screamed, "that kid's a Planeteer! Why haven't you taken her ring!"

"The ring," Zarm muttered, "Of course! Soundwave! Get the ring!"

Soundwave's chest compartment opened again and Rumble emerged. The smaller robot strode towards Gi. She stood her ground, "Oh no you don't. Water!"

A freak wave suddenly emerged in the sea, and sent a cascade of water surging over the deck. The trailing edge ran over Gi and Clash up to their knees, the brunt of the wave, up to the Decepticons' knees. The deck rocked heavily and Gi and Clash struggled to stay on their feet. Zarm had to abandon physical form lest he be washed away and Dr. Blight fled back into her ship, even as it was shoved halfway up the embankment around the flight deck's perimeter.

Soundwave had to catch Rumble and Ravage clung on for dear life while Starscream and Thundercracker slipped and stumbled as the main body of the wave struck them hardest.

Starscream scrambled to his feet. If he'd had a biological complexion, he'd have been livid with rage. "Impudent flesh creature! Zarm, Rumble, disarm her!"

Gi was shaking, both from fear and the exertion of withstanding the force of the wave. She and Clash were dripping wet. However, they stood their ground, "That was just a taste of what I can do!" She was inventing wildly. The idea of destroying anything tended to repel her, and if she managed to follow through with her threat, she and Commander Clash would both drown. This…ship and all of you will go to the bottom of the sea if you don't let us go."

"Starscream," Zarm cried, "your null ray!"

"I do not require your direction, petty godling," Starscream barked. But then a loud mechanical clang, consistent with the elevator coming back up, made Starscream halt. Then a loud, rasping metallic voice roared, "Fire!"

Gi's vision was completely blotted out by the strobe effect. She dropped to her knees, her whole body suddenly numb. She thrust out her arm and gasped, "Water!"

Nothing happened. Like Captain Planet, her ring, and her body, had been 'nullified."

Gi felt herself falling backwards, but was vaguely aware of something catching her, and Commander Clash's voice said, "I've got you, it's all right." Pain lanced up Gi's arm as Dr. Blight wrenched her ring from her finger. Gi collapsed onto the deck, Commander Clash having been restrained by Rumble.

But she heard the fear in his voice. As her vision cleared, her blood ran cold. Backlit by the sun stood a new Decepticon. He towered over all the others, over thirty feet tall. Clad in silvery armor plate and a massive helmet, his right arm was mounted with an enormous cannon. His face was long and angular, and the red eyes guttered with proud malice as he stared down at the two, suddenly very tiny human beings.

When he spoke, it was with a frightful grating roar then sent chills through Gi's spine.

"I am Megatron! Leader of the Decepticons. You will do exactly as I say!"


	3. Chapter 3

The Geo-Cruiser limped at one-third its top speed so that it took the rest of the day to return to Hope Island. The Island was their sanctuary and their base of operations, a little Edenic atoll in the middle of the sea. Its most significant feature, however, was the mountainous vein of crystal that rose out of the centre of the island. This was home, command centre and the physical anchor of Gaia, the Spirit of the Earth.

It was with heavy hearts that Wheeler, Linka, Kwame and Ma-Ti returned. Gaia was waiting in the crystalline cavern where she and the Planeteers held council on their missions.

Gaia, clad in violet robes, dusky and handsome, was the image of sorrow. Kwame approached and fell abjectly to his knees.

"Gaia," he rasped, "I'm sorry I allowed this to happen. The microwave plant was ransacked, the dignitaries injured and scattered, and Gi has been taken prisoner by…"

Somehow Wheeler found it easier to say 'giant robots that turn into jets' and so he said it.

Gaia shook her head, and laid a hand on Kwame's shoulder, "Even I did not foresee such an enemy as you faced. You did admirably under the circumstances."

Ma-Ti offered, "I know they have not harmed her, I can still sense her, but she is surrounded by some strange presence through which I cannot tell where she is."

"A strange presence indeed," said Gaia, "I cannot explain the presence of these robots," it sounded strange to hear the Earth Spirit employing the word.

Linka remarked, "We've seen Dr. Blight use automatons to do her bidding, but these are well beyond any simple labour machines."

"It certainly might explain all the missing tankers and cargo planes," Kwame added absently, "if they're raiding energy and raw materials in that area."

"So how do we get Gi and Commander Clash back from those metalheads?" Wheeler demanded.

"Once the Geo-Cruiser is repaired," Linka said, "we can patrol for them, but it may be that we'll have to wait until they attack another power installation, or until we have news of Doctor Blight."

Wheeler folded his arms irritably. He didn't like a 'wait and see' approach.

Gaia nodded reluctantly, "I'm afraid that will have to be the solution, but I fear for Gi in the meantime."

"Fine," Wheeler groused, "since we're spinning our wheels, I'm gonna spin wrenches on the Geo-Cruiser."

The Decepticon carrier apparently extended much further below the sea than above it. The large elevator platform descended through very high-ceilinged levels of cargo space, partially filled with stacks of the scintillating cubes.

Presently they arrived on a level that seemed to be a kind of factory floor. Shepherded by Ravage and Zarm at the point of the latter's sword, Gi and Clash were taken into this vast space full of giant work benches, pneumatic cranes and cables. A large vehicle of some sort, something like a cross between a large seaplane and a tank, was under construction in the middle of the bay floor.

Both prisoners were shoved into a large circle in the floor, and a containment field of shimmering blue light rose around them.

Clash immediately turned, apparently to hurl himself at Zarm, but Zarm remarked, "There is enough power running this force field to stun one of them," he jerked his head in the direction of the Decepticons, "I wouldn't like to contemplate what it could do to you."

Gi approached commander Clash, and put a hand on his burly shoulder, "Patience, Commander," she said, "we'll find a way out when we can. In the meantime, I think we could learn something here."

At the far end of the bay, Doctor Blight was carrying a heavy insulated case under her arm and apparently arguing with Soundwave, who was standing right alongside Megatron but Blight was either too intimidated (who could blame here, Gi thought) or too sensible to berate the Leader of the Decepticons directly.

"You metal morons cost me my microwave weapon at Reunion! We had a deal: I activate the power plant for you to make your energy blocks or whatever, and you let me and Zarm use it for a weapon!"

"And you use it as a weapon at our discretion, Doctor," Megatron growled. Gi still couldn't help but shudder at the freezing quality of the Decepticon Leader's voice.

"We would have had everything under control," Starscream whined, "if it hadn't been for those juvenile flesh creatures and their conjured battle-spirit or whatever it was. It was only because of my efforts we got away with the energon!"

"Your arrogance claimed the total success of the mission, Starscream," Megatron hissed, "Zarm forewarned you of the so-called 'Planeteers,' but you failed to destroy them when you had the chance. As for this other entity…"

"Designate Captain Planet, Megatron," Soundwave stated.

"This Captain Planet was not included in Zarm's account of their powers. Would you care to explain this to me, Zarm?"

Gi boggled at the sight of Zarm seeming to cringe at Megatron's dangerously smiling countenance.

Doctor Blight supplied, "When the Planet-brats activate their powers in sequence, it summons Captain Planet. He's supposedly the ultimate champion of nature" her voice dripped disgust.

"Swindle," Megatron ordered a smaller Decepticon who was working on the partly-finished ship, "Take the ring and analyze it. Doctor Blight, what is the extent of this Captain Planet's abilities?"

"Enough to throw this ship back into space, enough to defeat me and Zarm a dozen times over."

"Poor preparation Megatron," Starscream sneered, "just because no one on Cybertron knows we're here you assume all is well! But all is not well! Zarm told us of these Planeteers and of their leader, Gaia, and you took no steps to stop them!"

Gi was struck by the fractious nature of the conversation. Zarm was shockingly de-powered, Blight looking out for her own self-interest, as usual, but Starscream and Megatron clearly were not brothers-in-arms.

"And how are we supposed to mount an assault without Energon Cubes," Megatron said sarcastically, "that was the point of our initial covert attacks, or had you forgotten in your eagerness to undermine me, Starscream?"

Starscream persisted. "We should have attacked immediately, destroyed them when they had no warning."

"Recklessness like that is why I am the Leader of the Decepticons and you are not!"

Starscream retreated into a simmering silence. Zarm said, "I apologize for misleading you, Lord Megatron! I sought to have my vengeance on Gaia by making her watch her world destroyed. With Blight's weapon behind you, you could have raided with impunity. As ever, the Planeteers ruined this plan!"

"Do not forget, Zarm," Megatron said, "our failure is your demise also."

"I do not forget it," Zarm muttered.

"Analysis complete, Megatron," the Decepticon named Swindle approached again. Gi could just catch the glint of her ring in his metallic hand. "The stone is a powerful psychic energy conductor. Even now it contains a significant charge of power."

"That is what allows the Planeteers to control the elements," Zarm explained to them.

"Fascinating," Megatron remarked. "I wonder what other properties it might possess."

Zarm spoke haltingly, "The rings…were cut from the crystals of the Earth Spirit."

Swindle looked up from scrutinizing Gi's ring, "The same crystalline substance permeated Zarm's ship when we investigated it, Megatron!"

"Hope Island is mine, Megatron! You made your promises to me, as well as to Blight! I will take my rightful domain!"

Megatron brooked no retorts, "Tell me the nature of this island, and its location!"

Zarm folded his arms. Gi was amazed: Zarm was shaking in his boots, but he coveted power, just like Blight and Starscream coveted theirs.

Starscream rasped, "You're a fool Megatron! You have two prisoners, here at your fingertips, and you balk at this petty godling like some kowtowing flesh creature!"

Megatron rounded on his subordinate, who recoiled. Gi felt a thrill of foreboding, and Clash allowed himself to smirk, "I think he's crossed the line."

"Starscream," Megatron said slowly, "on the very rare occasion, your insolence contains a shard of truth. Soundwave! Interrogate the Planeteer!"

"As you command, Megatron."

Soundwave clanged across the bay, around the vehicle under construction as Swindle resumed his work on it.

Soundwave looked round, "Ravage: prepare for field deactivation."

Ravage bounded forward and took up a ready position near Commander Clash. The force field faded away. Clash shouted, "Gi! Run for it!" Then he dove at Ravage.

Gi took Clash at his word, though it rent her heart to know neither of them would likely get far.

She made it to the elevator platform and hit the 'up' control. The Decepticons charged the elevator but it moved fast and she rose fast through the levels of storage of what she suspected to be Energon.

There was nothing to be gained by trying to take Blight's ship. MAL would surely override it. She hopped off at the second last level. She ran up the cavernous corridor. She turned onto the staircase, and up into a large space with windows. Manifestly it was bridge. There was one Decepticon there, but it was a hulking mountain of a machine, bristling with cannons and missile launchers.

As soon as its glassy red eyes spotted her, it activated a control, "This is Brawl! Intruder in command centre!"

Brawl cut the channel and lunged at Gi. But he was large and ungainly, and Gi, summoning all her agility, rolled past him and back onto her feet, and then bounded up into the chair of the station he'd used, hoping the speakers meant it was for communications.

She banged her fists on the oversized buttons and switches (not oversized to a giant robot, she supposed) until a pulsating light came on and the speakers popped into life.

"Hello?" She gabbled desperately, "This is Gi of the Planeteers! I'm being held prisoner with Commander Clash by robots called the Decepticons. We're on the sea off…"

"Stop!" Roared a cold metal voice.

Gi turned and saw Megatron and Soundwave. Megatron had his cannon trained on her. Brawl had his various weapons primed as well. At their feet, Ravage gripped a bloodied and half-conscious commander Clash by the collar of his shirt.

Gi froze. She had no doubt that Megatron would fire, and with such a weapon, she'd probably be reduced to ashes in an instant.

She didn't move, neither persisting nor capitulating. Finally, spasmodically, she shook her head. Slowly, Megatron smiled. It was a horrible sight. "Perhaps a different incentive."

Megatron lowered his cannon arm…and trained it on Commander Clash.

"Surrender, or your friend is vaporized!"

Gi couldn't talk or breathe or move. Her eyes met Clash's. He had bloody scratches over his face but he called out hoarsely, "No, Gi!"

Ravage growled and shook his so violently Gi expected to hear his neck break.

"Last chance, human," Megatron said flatly.

Mingling misery and relief, she raised her hands and hopped down from the high seat.

Soundwave strode over and reset the controls on the console. Then he seized Gi from behind. Her arm felt on the point of breaking, pinched between the robot's fingers.

"I still won't tell you anything about Hope Island!" Gi's heart was pounding, and she resented her eyes tearing up from the pain, because she didn't want to be seen as scared, event though she was."

"Speech is not required," Soundwave droned, "wavelength extraction will provide information."

Gi felt Soundwave's free hand clamp around the back of her head. "W…wavelength?" She stammered, "What does that…."

Then a crackling, blistering pain roared through her mind. She couldn't help screaming, but tried to rein it back in. She could feel a probing into her brain. Images of Hope Island, the other Planeteers, Gaia, Captain Planet, flashed behind her eyes. She panicked, trying to flee the images, but where do you run inside your own head. She tried to force herself to focus on something else. She repeated in her mind over and over the mantra she'd learned as a child: I take refuge in the Buddha. I take refuge in the Dharma. I take Refuge in the Sangha… I take refuge in the Buddha. I take refuge in the Dharma. I take Refuge in the Sangha.

But every time she thought of Buddha, she saw Gaia. Every time she though of the Dharma, she though of the Planeteers' powers. The Sangha brought to mind the Planeteers. Soundwave followed the association and still found his way to Hope Island. He examined the giant crystalline mountain in her memory.

It was with a sinking of her heart that Gi felt the pain stop and herself fall to her knees.

Gi felt hollowed out, scoured, violated. She looked blearily up at Soundwave. He didn't even look at her as he intoned, "Analysis complete Megatron. The crystal structure has a volume of at least eight million astrolitres. It is a geothermal and electromagnetic energy conduit."

"What is the meaning of this?" Zarm was speaking from somewhere behind Megatron.

"It means," said the Decepticon Leader, "that this Hope Island is a great hope! For the Decepticons!"

"It could generate an unlimited number of Energon cubes," Soundwave uttered.

"The Island is mine!" Zarm demanded.

"Then it is your penalty for trying to cheat me out of power!"

"The Planeteers will defend themselves. Gaia can call all the powers of the Earth to stop you," Clash slurred through his swollen mouth."

"Additional energy required," Soundwave opined flatly.

"Indeed," Megatron said, "we need a full reserve for a full scale assault. Soundwave?"

"The tidal generators off Queensland are within range, Megatron."

"Excellent," Megatron hissed. "Take the prisoners back below."

A much smaller, but still massive robot hand that Gi guessed to be Rumble seized her by the scruff and carried her, stars exploding behind her eyes, down to the force field. She and Clash both lost consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

The Decepticon 'deck' was merely the top of a keel-shaped vessel that extended one hundred metres below the surface. It stood off the reef; it was too large to cross it.

"I'm going to risk surfacing," Kwame said.

As the sub bobbed to the surface, they saw the two jets taking off from the flight deck, and an amphibious jeep and tank running as a surprisingly high speed through the sea.

It seemed to be the day for amphibious vehicles. An amphibious car, some kind of Cadillac painted an unpleasant shade of pink. The windows were tinted but a female voice (not, as they momentarily feared, Doctor Blight's) shouted, surprisingly loudly, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Come on," Wheeler said, "Let's get after them!"

Ma-Ti looked indecisive, "But if they're all heading to shore, we can rescue Gi!"

"You are right, Ma-Ti," said Kwame, his eyes locked on the carrier ship, "we should take this chance while it presents itself. Let's go!"

They drove the sub forward and brought it sharply alongside the carrier. "Alright, let's rumble!" Wheeler said as they jumped from the sub hatch to the rim of the deck. It seemed deserted, but the windows of the bridge rose from the tower at the stern. Linka looked wide-eyed at it, "They will know we're here!"

Wheeler smirked his wise-guy smirk, and then looked to the floor: "Fire!"

Tracing the laser-beam of his fire power, he cut a hole through the deck, albeit with some difficulty. "Wow, that stuff's tough!"

Linka stepped up boldly, "My turn: Wind!"

A vortex of wind roared up around the four Planeteers and carried them down the forty-five-foot distance to the next level.

"Planeteers, always making an entrance in the wrong place."

They found themselves confronted by Zarm, with Rumble and Ravage alongside.

"Where is Gi," Kwame demanded.

"It hardly matters," Zarm said coldly, "you won't get there except as prisoners yourselves."

"We'll see about that," Linka snapped, "Wind!"

"Fire!" Wheeler activated his ring, with the result that a raging cloud of fire, propelled by Linka's wind power roared into the faces of the spirit and the two robots. Zarm vanished, teleporting away. The Decepticons were thrown off-balance and they dashed past them. Wheeler wielded his power yet again, and when Ravage leaped to pursue them, his tail was welded to the floor!

"Well done, Wheeler," Ma-Ti said as they pelted down the corridor. Rumble was still chasing them, but they found the way to what seemed to be a very large version of a service stairway.

They descended into a cavernous space like a factory floor. Something was being built there, and in front of it rose a column of blue light, within which they saw…

"Gi! Commander Clash!"

Kwame's heart clenched to see both of them lying on the floor inside the field. Clash stirred at their approach, and called out, "Don't touch the containment field!"

They skidded to a halt. Kwame's mind jammed. He hadn't counted on a force field! He methodically scanned the room, but saw nothing he could recognize offhand as being the controls for the field.

"Gi looks unresponsive!" Linka stared wide-eyed into the prison, "How do we get them out?"

"_They do not come out. You go in_."

Soundwave emerged from the shadows alongside the cell, pointing a menacing-looking weapon at them. Behind him, an elevator mechanism appeared to be descending behind.

Dr. Blight appeared behind him, half her attention on the large seaplane on the bay floor she was working on, and screeched, "Don't just stand there, noise-box, shoot them!"

"Planeteers," Clash rasped, "Run!"

"_Negative,_" Soundwave replied flatly, "_Humans to be taken into custody, by decree of Megatron_."

Wheeler raised his fist, "One more step and I'll melt your face off!" It was a surprisingly vicious threat for a Planeteer to make, but rarely had their backs been so firmly against the wall.

Dr. Blight cackled suddenly, "He's got backup now, Planet-pests! It's ready, Soundwave!"

Dispassionately, Soundwave commanded, "_Maleficent, transform!_"

As the other Decepticons had done at Reunion, the seaplane broke apart and began rearranging itself. What finally stood there was the robotic version of a lean but powerful humanoid, clad in armour from the plane's hull, with shoulder-mounted cannons that were apparently its pontoons. But the face was what transfixed them: it was a solid version of the sinister MAL, Blight's computer sidekick!

"The Decepticons' part of the bargain," Blight said proudly, leaning on Maleficent's leg, "my sweet MAL, with a body of his own, and weapons to match!"

"It's…extraordinary," MAL, or Maleficent, said softly, "my most sophisticated reasoning algorithm could not have imagined the range of motion…the sensation…"

Abruptly his shoulder cannon let loose a blast of white-hot plasma. A section of the service stairs was blasted into pieces and tumbled in a heap to the floor.

The elevator in the wall of the bay finished its descent. Soundwave turned to regard the arrival, "_Megatr-_"

There was a roar of an engine, a screech of brakes, and a crash as Soundwave's legs were knocked out from under him.

The Planeteers stumbled out of the way, leaving an open space between Soundwave, the cell, and the pink amphicar that had just screeched to a halt at the end of the bay.

"Whoa," Wheeler exclaimed, "it's the, pink, motorized…amphibious…cavalry!"

The same female voice that had heckled them in the submarine spoke again, "Yep, you got that right, mate!"

The car, not altogether surprisingly, promptly transformed into a robot: a lean, sleek, pink-and-silver, albeit armoured and carrying a short rifle, oddly feminine-looking robot.

"What is it?" MAL cried in alarm, stumbling back, apparently not yet in total control of his new body yet.

Soundwave, scrambling to his feet, likewise retreated several paces, "_Autobot alert! Autobot alert!_"

"Autobot?" Linka queried to no-one in particular.

"Name's Arcee," said the new robot perfunctorily, "don't talk, just run!"

"But," Wheeler spluttered, "the catwalk's out and our friends are in there!" He pointed to the force field.

The Autobot's shoulders seemed to droop briefly as she took aim at Soundwave, "Oh, slag all, I gotta do _everything_?" Then she fired. A red bolt lanced out at Soundwave and hit his knee, knocking him back into a kneel. Then she shot again in his collar, and he tumbled back into the wall. "Right, you lot," she added, "get your mates and run!" She turned and dealt a roundhouse kick to a conduit in the wall. A massive fount of sparks and flame erupted and the containment field abruptly winked out.

"Get them," Ma-Ti cried.

Kwame and Wheeler hoisted Commander Clash under each arm. Linka and Ma-Ti did the same for Gi.

"To the lift," Arcee yelled. They hobbled as fast as they could to the platform. Arcee backed in, her gun trained on the prone Soundwave and the few erratic potshots from Maleficent.

Then there was an almighty crash and a growl of anger. They looked up. Rumble had fallen from the landing to the bay floor far below. Marooned on the catwalk landing stood Megatron, his eyes blazing red at them. The Planeteers were alarmed by this, but even more frightened by the sound of shock and fright Arcee seemed to make upon seeing him. He swung his arm cannon round and fired.

The blast was cacophonous and so bright it lit up the whole bay like daylight. The blast grazed Arcee's side and heated the deck of the lift red-hot. Megatron's flanged rasped roared, "Another time, Autobot!" Arcee staggered back into the lift and triggered the lift. They ascended smoothly and rose promptly into salty wind and sun of the Coral Sea.

"You lot get to your ship, and head for shore!" Formerly grim and brusque, Arcee seemed to have an edge of fear in her mechanical voice now.

The Planeteers, heads whirling from the bizarre situation, obeyed…mechanically.


	5. Chapter 5

In the light of day, rushing across the deck of the Decepticon ship, Kwame felt a surge of fear and responsibility at the sight of their two rescued comrades. Clash looked like a large animal (or a robot resembling one, Kwame thought grimly) had raked him across the face and down to the chest. He'd lost enough blood to get on with and the skin under his torn jacket was black with extensive bruising.

Gi's signs were subtler, but at least as troubling. She was pale as a ghost, a green tinge coming through her skin and black circles around her eyes; a thread of dried blood ran down her nose, and her shirt front was splashed with vomit.

"What did they do to her," Kwame asked, appalled.

"Some…kind of mind probe," Clash supplied. He seemed to be coming back to himself slightly in the sun and fresh air.

They scrambled back into the submarine as Arcee reached the water's edge and transformed back into the amphibious car. She slapped back into the water and took off at full-throttle, which was suspiciously fast for an amphibious hardtop.

The Eco-Sub followed her. Using a com-link Ma-Ti contacted Arcee, "Arcee, where are we going?"

"To the power plant! The Decepticons are having a demolition derby over there!"

"But who are you, exactly?"

"Second Lieutenant Arcee, Commando Corps, Autobot Defense Force. Who are you, while we're on the subject?"

"The Planeteers; we're the appointed guardians of the Earth's environment," Ma-Ti supplied, "we fought the Decepticons when they tried to hijack the microwave plant in Reunion."

There was a brief pause, "You took on the Decepticons? You and yours are a brave bunch, Squirt." Ma-Ti appeared bemused by the nickname.

"But we have little time," Kwame insisted, "our friends need medical help!"

Gi stirred slightly.

"I'll get you lot evacuated as quickly as I can, but I need to deal with the Decepticons. You didn't happen to catch all their names, did you?"

Ma-Ti counted them off on his fingers, "The ones at Reunion were called Thundercracker, Soundwave…"

"Well obviously 'Wave's here," she said drily, "which means Rumble, Lazerbeak and Ravage to boot. Who else?"

"Uh, Thundercracker and Starscream."

"Screamer," Arcee grumbled, "naturally."

"One was called Swindle," Clash supplied, "and one called Brawl."

Gi stirred again and groaned, "Megatron…"

There was a long pause as the shore grew larger, punctuated by the looming shape of the power plant. There were also tendrils of smoke and sporadic light flashes around it.

"Listen closely," Arcee's voice said, "I'll land first. Stay with your ship there until I can arrange evac for you. This is gonna be a fierce fight. Understand?"

The Planeteers agreed. The shore was very close now, a cement pier marking it, with a wrecked chain link fence above. The Planeteers could make out the shapes of Starscream and Thundercracker on the roof of the power plant.

"Here goes," Wheeler said as Arcee raced up the concrete boat ramp, transforming fluidly and charging into the fenced area. Her shoulder was still black and smoking but she promptly let loose a spray of fire from her rifle.

The Eco-Sub hove alongside the pier and they came out onto the top to watch the scene unfold.

The power plant was built across the mouth of a river. The road up to the parking area was full of police cars and SWAT trucks, in front of other emergency vehicles, who were apparently holding back, perhaps waiting for military backup.

Starscream and Thundercracker had wrecked the transfer stations and were launching suppression fire at the police forces. Then Arcee scored a glancing hit off Starcream's wing. He screeched, "An Autobot! Destroy it!"

The Planeteers had not noticed the gaping hole in the reinforced concrete wall of the plant. The tank rolled out of it and promptly transformed into the hulking munitions array of Brawl. Acree rolled under a salvo from him, and managed to get a shot back. Thundercracker fired down, forcing her back, while Starscream suppressed the police further.

"She's good," Linka opined, "but she is badly outmatched!"

"I will help her," Kwame said, his expression hard, "Earth!"

The sea and land vibrated violently. All of Kwame's frustration and remorse was channeled into an earthquake. The two jet Decepticons staggered and nearly toppled from the rooftop.

"By Primus," Arcee exclaimed, glancing at Kwame in amazement. Then she looked over her shoulder at the police cordon, "Way's open, lads! Have at them!"

Strangely, the police seemed not to know what to do with this statement. Then unexpectedly one of the black-and-blue police cars roared forward, followed by an ambulance and a very stylish car with a siren on the hood.

"Let me guess," said Wheeler, "they're…"

In a blur, all three of them transformed into robots. The police car robot let fly a missile at Brawl, throwing him further off balance, then firing a gatling gun-like weapon that made Thundercracker duck. He hollered, "Swindle, get out here and help!"

Swindle ramped off a slab of concrete wall and landed on his feet in robot form, "What's going on? Where in the Pit is Rumble?"

He slashed a laser beam across the police robot's chest. The ambulance Autobot had a pistol, and squeezed off four large, apparently high-explosive rounds into Swindle.

"Yo, Arcee," said the sporty car, "get on Ratchet's skidplate and I'll make Screamer and Firecracker keep their heads down!"

"Those humans in the sub need med-evac, Jazz," Arcee said.

"They sure earned it, too," Jazz remarked as he poured ammunition at the jets. "Okay, I'll handle the fly-bots. Arcee, you and Prowl take the other two. Ratchet, get those humans outta here!"

Ratchet transformed back into an ambulance and sped over to the Eco-Sub. "You all get aboard, double-quick," said his voice from the vehicle.

Pausing just long enough to contend with boarding a talking, self-driving ambulance, they started helping Gi and Clash down.

But it was too late. A stray shell from Brawl blew the ambulance over, and he seemed to fall back into robot form.

The Autobot's strategy seemed not to be going well: Arcee was physically grappling with Swindle and Brawl had battered Prowl pretty badly. Starscream and Thundercracker's possession of the high ground was making things worse. The police and emergency cordon, confounded by the two factions of battling robots, seemed nonplussed for what to do.

"Wheeler," Kwame said, "use your power to weaken that concrete ledge." He indicated the edge of the plant roof, against which Starscream was bracing his foot while he fired.

"Got it," Wheeler said, "Fire!"

The concrete glowed and smoked briefly before it crumbled. With a cry of indignation, Starscream crashed to the ground. He rolled clear of the Autobot's line of fire, to the far end of the tarmac.

Jazz shouted, "Prepare to fall back!"

"Insolent flesh creatures! When I'm through scrapping these Autobots I'll – _oooff_!"

Starscream was hurled backward, struck out of nowhere by an enormous red trailer truck. Looking up from the ground, Starscream wailed, "No! It can't be!"

Brawl roared and lauched another salvo of shells at the truck. Linka shrieked, "Wind!" A cyclone caught the ammunition and sent it spinning upward, until it exploded harmlessly in midair.

Two other vehicles appeared: one a grubby white tow truck, the other a small, umanned tank vehicle with a heavy cannon mounted on it. A voice, mechanical, but gruff, said, "Don't count your protoforms 'til their out of the mold, Starscream! Autobots, transform!"

The truck, tow truck and tank transformed. The truck's robot looked almost as tall as Megatron had been, red-armoured and with a head that suggested a war helmet with crests over each ear. The face was covered by a mask, but two distinct, luminous blue eyes looked over the battlefield. He held a large rifle, which let fly a blast of energy, once again knocking Brawl off his feet. The Autobots let fly a barrage at the nearest Decepticons.

Ducking a shot from the tow truck Autobot, Starscream yelled, "Decepticons! Retreat!"

Thundercracker and Starscream transformed and blasted off. Brawl and Swindle stumbled to the boat ramp and transformed as they plunged back in and roared off over the reef.

Ratchet approached the Eco-Sub. He was bulky in build and about fifteen feet tall. His round face, below the red crescent-moon crest on his helmet (do robots have helmets or thick skulls, Ma-Ti wondered) was like mercury, but pitted and worn-looking. "Right, where were we? Welcome aboard." With a groan like an old man with a strained back, he transformed back into an ambulance.

Commander Clash and Gi were carried in and laid on the palettes inside. The back doorway closed on its own, and the unmanned steering wheel turned as they rolled out onto the road. Within moments they'd plunged into the Queensland jungle.


	6. Chapter 6

The Planeteers looked out the small windows. Behind them the tow truck and unmanned (not that that term meant much here) tank rolled, and in front, Arcee and the trailer truck. Jazz and Prowl were presumably at point.

"Where are we going?" Linka wondered.

"Off the beaten track," Wheeler remarked.

"How are they," Ma-Ti asked, sitting anxiously beside Kwame at Gi's bedside.

"Allow me," said Ratchet's voice, coming seemingly from all around. The fluorescent tubes overhead turned briefly blue and a low buzz rose and faded. There was a beat, then, "I'm no expert in organic operations, but it looks like the big one, Clash did you say his name was – that his injuries are not much more than skin deep, although we should disinfect and seal them. Your other friend is another matter: she's been interrogated. I know Soundwave's brushwork anywhere."

"Do…do you mean she's been tortured?"

"That's about it," Ratchet said grimly. "She's had a massive psychoelectric discharge put through her central process…I mean her brain. It allows Soundwave to hack into someone's mind and deconstruct their memories until they give up whatever info Megatron wants him to get."

"Is there any…permanent damage?" Linka asked nervously.

"Well, physically, not really, except for some minor hemorrhaging from her circulatory pressure, as you can see already. Maybe they'll be some temporary disorientation and loss of equilibrium. No, the damage is mostly…personal. Having your consciousness violated like that's reduced some 'bots to beeping wind-up toys. You'll know better than I do how she'd handle it. Ah," he said, "we're here."

They had slowed and stopped. The back doors opened and they brought their wounded out into a clearing in the lush, primeval Australian rainforest. As the humid, scented air washed over them, Gi lifted her head, her eyes open. She looked dimly around herself, "Where are we?"

"Australia," Kwame said, allowing himself a brief grin of relief. Clash and the other Planeteers sighed and smiled in quiet elation. Gi, with help from Linka, sat up and looked around. "It's very pretty. But what's that?

In the clearing, and taking up most of it, lay an immense bronze-coloured shape. A large hatchway and ramp opened under a row of rocket engines. The bizarre thing to contemplate, Ma-Ti said, was that it was probably a small ship by the standards of its pilots.

"Too right," grumbled the tow truck, pulling up nearby, "A stasis pod never felt so cramped."

The Autobots: automated tank, tow truck, ambulance, sports car, pink amphicar, police car, and truck. Behind them was the backwoods track they'd evidently come up.

They watched, breathtaken, as these innocuous vehicles took themselves apart and changed into their strange, imposing robot forms.

"Hello," Kwame said lamely, "I am Kwame. These are Linka, Wheeler, Ma-Ti and Gi, of the Planeteers. Commander Clash of the United Nations, our friend."

The truck-robot knelt, a strange sight, bringing him at least a little closer to a human level. When he spoke, it was with an immense, deep voice as impressive as Megatron's but it was gentler, softer and…polite.

"Hello, Planeteers, Commander. I am Optimus Prime, High Commander of the Autobot Order of Cybertron. These are my officers. You already know Commando Arcee."

"G'day," she said, with an Australian twang, twirling her gun nonchalantly.

"Chief Field Medic Ratchet…"

Ratchet saluted casually, "How d'ya do?"

"My second-in-command, Jazz."

"Respect, yo," Jazz said lightly, smiling under his visor/

"Wheeljack, combat engineer…"

The tow truck robot had a wraparound speaker instead of a mouth, and some kind of panels on either side of his head. His voice was gruff, "Nice to meet you."

"Strategic ops officer Prowl…"

The police car, the doors of his car form making an impressive fan behind his head. Appropriately, his sleek black armour brought to mind both a riot cop and a ninja. He said, softly and exactingly, "At your service," and bowed a little.

"And science officer Perceptor."

The eight-foot-tall robot was the smallest by far. His shoulder-mounted array looked like both a cannon and a telescope. He marched up and proffered his heavy metallic hand. "A genuine pleasure to meet you all," he enthused.

Gingerly, Kwame shook his hand. His grip was surprisingly gentle and warm.

"What happened," Gi asked, "what happened to the Decepticons?"

"With a little help from your peeps, here," Jazz said, gesturing at the Planeteers, "we sent them packing before they'd made a single energon cube!"

"You are Gi?" Optimus looked closely at her. She nodded, looking back with her mouth hanging absently open.

"Our success would not have been possible today if you hadn't managed to send your distress call. That was how we managed to detect the Decepticon raiding cruiser and how Arcee was able to assist in your rescue."

Gi smiled appreciatively. Clash saluted.

"It's not all fireworks," Arcee said, glancing around Optimus Prime at Jazz, "we're in up to our optics, Prime: Megatron is here."

This pronouncement caused the Autobots to mutter and shift about in great alarm. "Megs? Here? For real?" Jazz swayed slightly.

"But who is Megatron," Linka asked insistently, "who are the Decepticons? Who are you?"

"You can talk," Ratchet remarked, "I'll see about patching up Mr. Clash here." Ratchet began scanning Clash like he'd done with Gi. "The rest of you, make yourselves comfortable."

The Planeteers sat down. Gi leaned on Linka for support as Optimus Prime, still kneeling, spoke again.

"We are from a world called Cybertron. It is a place where the advancement of machinery and electronics has taken the place that biological evolution has on this world."

"Artificial intelligence," Linka breathed, wide-eyed.

"Who you calling artificial," Jazz protested.

"We have evolved on our own terms for so long that we are no longer true machines as you might understand it," Prowl offered.

"And we had made Cybertron a peaceful world, but then, over time, factions grew that wanted to expand the dominion of machine life, even at the expense of organic life that flourishes in the galaxy. Those who sought to depredate other worlds became known as the Decepticons. We, the Autobots, fought for the honour of our world and the safety of others. Cybertron has been torn by war for centuries since. Our own energy resources are running out, and while the Autobots try to harvest the natural resources of lifeless worlds, the Decepticons are willing to plunder the technologies of inhabited worlds to replenish their resources."

"And you came to stop them," Wheeler asked.

"Indeed," Prowl offered, "We had hoped to intercept them in space, but they got here before us. We only arrived before sunrise, locally."

"But, wait a second," Wheeler interjected, "There's been a lot of hits on oil tankers and stuff for the past two weeks. How did it take you two weeks if you were following them?"

"Perhaps," Linka said drily, "you have heard that space is quite big, Yankee." Gi, still a bit unfocused, managed to laugh.

"Actually, I'm afraid he has a point." It was hard to read even the most humanlike of the Autobot faces, but Perceptor looked somewhat downcast. "We had to spend days checking through this system to find the right planet. We thought the Decepticons would be doing the same thing, checking planets for energy industries and resources. But it looks like they knew exactly where to go already, but we don't know how."

"It must have been Zarm," said Kwame, punching a fist into his other hand.

"Da," Linka agreed, "Zarm knew the way to Earth, and he knew Dr. Blight. Maybe he made a deal with the Decepticons."

Ma-Ti frowned "Zarm is not the type to make deals. He is a spirit of war. He dominates, he doesn't ally himself."

"Same goes for Decepticons," said Arcee, "but if he did a deal with them, he must have offered them something pretty big. Regular planet-ransacking is something Megatron doesn't do in person. He'll even trust Starscream to do that stuff. But he's brought Screamer, Soundwave and his crew, Swindle, Brawl and Thundercracker, plus another Decepticon I'd never seen before. Maleficent, or something."

"That wasn't a Decepticon," Linka said, "that was MAL. He's an AI that Dr. Blight uses as her assistant."

"Or her boyfriend," Wheeler said with a shudder. "Whatever Zarm promised, that must have been part of the bargain to bring Dr. Blight in on it."

"Lucky for us he didn't know his servo from his tailpipe in that body," Arcee said, "least for now."

Optimus Prime cut in, "This still leaves the question of what this Zarm might have offered the Decepticons that made Megatron willing to make a deal with him."

There was a momentary pause, and something in the air changed. It grew suddenly cooler, and the colour of sky changed.

The Planeteers looked up. Gaia's spectral image had appeared. The Autobots all looked up and Prowl, Jazz and Arcee instinctively went for their weapons until Kwame called them off.

"Planeteers," Gaia said, "I think I know the answer to your question. Zarm used to be a spirit of this world. He still knows the location of Hope Island. He can use Hope Island to cause natural disasters, to watch conflict zones and manipulate them into getting worse. He can destroy us, and this world if he chooses."

"And he can give access and intelligence to the Decepticons to harvest all the energy they could ever need. They could make Earth into a permanent refueling depot for their armies!" Prowl turned to look at Gaia and Optimus Prime in turn as he said this.

Gi had been recovering her senses slowly, with Ma-Ti and Linka at her sides. Now her eyes widened and she said, "I remember! Zarm was arguing with Megatron. Megatron found out about Hope Island, and said that he'd take it because Zarm hadn't told him about it. Zarm still wouldn't say where it was. That's why Clash and I were questioned…" Her voice shrank to a whisper. Linka gave her a sisterly one-armed hug.

"Which means," Optimus Prime said, sounding perplexed for the first time as he addressed Gaia, "that the Decepticons may be making this island their next destination."

"Then we have to get there," Commander Clash exclaimed, "Hope Island, Gaia, the Earth are all in danger."

"We've got another problem," Gi said, sitting up straight, "They took away my ring!"

"What is the significance of these rings?" Prowl asked.

"They give us the power to call on the forces of nature," Kwame explained, then directed his own at the Autobot ship, "Earth!"

The ground thundered and a pillar of rock rose up under the Autobot ship, angling its prow skyward, ready to launch.

"Thanks," said Jazz distantly.

"We were afraid we would damage the forest if we had to take off at too low an angle," Prowl said, clearly pleased.

"Prime," Perceptor piped up, "we should relocate to this Hope Island. Megatron already has a head start on us." He looked up at Gaia, "That is, if it's alright with you."

"It would be a pleasure to receive guests," Gaia said, quirking a smile.

"We would be honoured," Optimus Prime said.

"I'll carry you back to your sub," Ratchet said, spraying a silvery mist over Clash's wounds, "and you can lead the way from there."

"Good thing we built in amphibious contingencies to these new forms," Wheeljack remarked, apparently studying his own bulky arm.

"Planeteers," said Prime, "if you would be so kind as to lead the way."

Kwame walked up to Optimus Prime and offered his hand, reaching as far up as possible. Prime stooped and, very carefully returned the handshake. His hand engulfed the human's whole forearm. "We would be happy to. Come Planeteers, Hope Island needs us!"

"Alright!" Wheeler sprang up. Gi refused help and got unsteadily to her feet.

"Autobots," Optimus Prime declared, "Transform and roll out!"

"Climb aboard," said Ratchet, and collapsed back into an ambulance. The Planeteers boarded. Optimus Prime and Prowl jogged out ahead, and both dove into their vehicle forms, seamlessly going from running to rolling.

"Clash," Kwame exclaimed, "your wounds look better already!"

"Yes," said the Commander, "I'm amazed, Ratchet."

"I aim to please," Ratchet said gruffly, "I used nanites, programmed with my scans of human physiology. They disinfect the wounds and speed the clotting, then break down."

"Say, Ratchet," said Wheeler, "what's the transforming all about? Is it for disguise or something?"

"That too," he said. "I guess you humans, if you have a job to do or something, you learn to use different kinds of vehicles, right?"

Gi, the others were glad to see, was getting increasingly engaged after her trauma. "Sure. Like patrol boats, police cars, bulldozers…"

"Ambulances," Ma-Ti added, smiling.

"Right," said Ratchet. "Same thing for us, except instead of being given a vehicle and trained, we're given an alternate form and trained to use that."

"Become a truck instead of learning to drive one!" Wheeler looked quite transported by the idea.

Presently, the convoy arrived back at the power plant. Ignoring the security cordon that had sprung up, they arrived back at the shore, and the Planeteers got aboard the Eco-Sub.


	7. Chapter 7

"Lead the way, Planeteers!" Optimus Prime called.

Kwame took the controls and cranked the sub's engine quickly to full speed.

Wheeler had been puzzled by how the Autobots meant to follow them. Arcee of course was an amphicar, but the others…

Looking out the rear porthole, he found his answer: the cars and trucks that were the Autobots all appeared to have door airbags, but they inflated out, not in. This kept them afloat, and in addition their wheels extruded paddles to drive them through the water.

The exception was Optimus Prime himself. He'd hit the sea at high speed, and the cab of his truck form had suddenly grown hydrofoils, so that he was throwing impressive wings of water out behind him.

"How are you feeling, Gi?" Kwame, once they were on course, and he had attention to spare. Gi was sitting in the seat behind and to his right. She still looked awfully pale, although the green tinge had cleared up. But she still looked a bit glassy-eyed and tired.

"How are holding up, Gi?" Kwame repeated.

Gi stirred herself. "I'll feel a lot better when I get to Hope Island and get cleaned up." Kwame realized as well that her vomit-soaked shirt was still on. The smell was noticeable even now.

The cruise toward Hope Island took place through open seas and clear skies, but an hour and a half after leaving Australia, an aircraft became visible above them. A seaplane.

Optimus Prime's voice came over the sub radio, "Perceptor, can you get any readings on that aircraft?"

"Affirmative, Prime. Definitely not a genuine Earth vessel. The Decepticons are onto us!"

Suddenly a spectral image appeared across the main viewport of the sub, like a reflection with no source. Not Gaia this time, but Zarm's hard countenance.

"Planeteers, your union with the enemies of Megatron will do you no good. With Dr. Blight's and my knowledge of Hope Island, and the might of the Decepticons, you cannot stand!"

"Hey, Zarm," Wheeler jeered, "what happened to the big, bad spirit of war? You finally found somebody too big for you to pick on?"

"And now you're doing his propaganda," Linka spat. "Pathetic!"

Zarm's expression heated up into rage, "You will pay a price for your defiance! Earth and Cybertron will both meet their fates today!" With that, his image vanished.

Another voice sounded over the radio. It was Wheeljack, "I almost feel sorry for that Zarm guy. Anybody who gets under Megatron's thumb is in a bad way."

"Don't feel too sorry," Linka said icily, "he's nearly destroyed Earth twice and at least one whole world wiped out because of him."

"I've seen Megatron, though," Gi said, and her pallour increased. "I don't think I've ever been so scared of anything as of his voice. Just his voice!"

"It is a voice that has ordered atrocities across the galaxy," Optimus Prime cut in, his tone grave. "With your help, I hope we can prevent one here."

Gaia stood on the shores of Hope Island, looking out for her Planeteers. A cloud of mist and spray was growing on the horizon. As it grew nearer, shapes resolved. She recongnized the Eco-Sub, of course, but she regarded with puzzlement the other craft around it. When the sub hove into its pier, the other vehicles rolled unceremoniously onto the beach. Gaia backed away in bemusement as the big red truck rumbled onto shore and detached its big trailer. Then a voice said, "We're here! Autobots, transform!"

Once they had returned to their robot shapes, Perceptor was virtually dancing with excitement, "This crystal! I've never seen anything like it! It's a massive computer and battery combined!"

"And it's why the Decepticons want it," Gi said, moving, with obvious discomfort, at speed toward Gaia and the Autobots. Gaia's eyes widened in dismay at Gi, and she held out her arms to her Planeteer.

Gi smiled gratefully but said, "Thank you Gaia, but perhaps I'd better clean up first."

"Of course, my darling Gi," Gaia said tenderly. "Come see me in the Crystal Chamber when you're ready."

Gi excused herself, and Optimus Prime knelt before Gaia – not that it made much difference. "Do I have the honour of addressing Gaia, Spirit of this planet?"

"You do," Gaia said, regarding the immense robot with a gentle curiosity. "Optimus Prime, wasn't it?"

"Indeed. I am sorry that our war has come to trouble your world. I promise we will do everything we can to drive the Decepticons away from here."

"I don't like the idea of my sanctuary being turned into a battlefield, Optimus Prime."

"If I could end this struggle peacefully, Gaia, I would. But the Decepticons have never accepted any offer of peace. I fear we have no choice."

Gaia reluctantly nodded.

"Then let us prepare for battle," Kwame said, the words coming with difficulty, as if he'd never used the word 'battle' before.

Before any of them really knew what was happening, the beach of Hope Island and been changed into a command centre. Optimus Prime's trailer unfolded into a platform with what looked like computers and radar. Perceptor was driving around the island in his mini-tank form scanning the horizon.

Gi, meanwhile, had changed and cleaned up. Her hair was still wet from the shower and she was sitting, cross-legged under a palm tree near the crystal cave where Gaia dwelt.

Her head was still throbbing and she felt a bit sick. More than anything, she was anxious over the loss of her ring. Gaia had offered her comfort and praise for her bravery, and Gi valued them highly, but without her power she, and perhaps everyone on Hope Island, was in danger.

"Am I intruding," said a metallic but gentle voice.

Gi looked up, "No, it's alright. It's Prowl, isn't it?"

"Yes," he said, sitting, like her, in the lotus position under the tree. Even so the top of Gi's head came up to the level of his heart. Assuming he had one…

"Are you recovering from your experience?"

Gi nodded, "Little by little. But they took my ring!"

"Without this ring, you cannot summon the same power that your leader Kwame did?"

"The same and different. He can control Earth. I control Water."

"You have a lot to work with," Prowl said, looking at the sea, "We have little or no water on Cybertron."

Gi frowned, the image difficult to come up with. "The waters of this world are being polluted and neglected by a lot of companies and countries. The air and the land too. That's why the Planeteers were formed, to try and push back and protect them."

"On Cybertron, we tend to regard organic life as something fragile. But it's still very remarkable. I know that if he didn't feel the need to lead the fight against Megatron, Optimus Prime would be leading expeditions to study and explore places like this."

"I'm glad that you care. There are enough humans out there who don't."

"You think you can make a difference with those rings?"

"Yes," Gi said proudly, "One situation at a time."

Prowl seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then said, "Then maybe we can get it for you."

Gi looked hard at Prowl, "You're in charge of 'strategic operations,' right?"

"I have that honour."

"Then maybe we can come up with a strategy for getting my ring back!"

"Yes," Prowl said, "Let us…"

Before Prowl could finish speaking Gi was faintly scandalized to see a tow truck tearing up the turf as it rolled up to them and transformed into Wheeljack. "Perceptor just reported in. Prowl, Prime wants us back at base camp. The Decepticons are here!"


	8. Chapter 8

The Planeteers and the Autobots both convened on the headland on the south side of Hope Island. A copse of trees was the only vegetation besides grass, and a few errant crystals added to the landscape. But it was a high, level open ground for them to gather.

Gaia stood on the edge of the headland, her gown billowing in the wind as they all looked at the low, leaden-purple platform in the distance.

As they were gathering, Optimus Prime moved up alongside Gaia, "Have you any powers to call on, Gaia," he asked.

She looked like she was on the verge of tears, "I can call any forces of nature. But their ship is too strong for me to sink. It stop them here I would need to summon a typhoon, an earthquake, or tsunami. I could defeat them, but not without destroying you, and maybe losing my Planeteers."

"They are very brave," said Prime.

"You may be used to sacrifice," she said, "but do not ask me to make that decision."

"We can take them," Wheeler said, as much to reassure himself as anything.

"Yes," Gaia said anxiously, "perhaps so. But they come only for the crystal, nothing else. I fear that Hope Island will be devastated whether we win or lose."

"Just our being here is tearing things up," Wheeljack remarked, gesturing at his own tire tracks, "Sorry about that…"

"Then we must win…or lose," Linka said softly, "as fast as we can."

"If we could call Captain Planet…" Ma-Ti said hopelessly.

"We may be able to make that happen," Prowl said. "Prime, with your permission, I wish make a retrieval attempt for Gi's power ring."

Optimus Prime had been standing, gazing at the Decepticon ship. He turned and said, "If it can speed our victory, then let it be so."

"We'll have to go in under the cover of the first exchange of fire," Arcee pointed out, "But I can get Gi there, with some covering fire and luck."

"I'll come along," said Wheeler, "You'll need all the help you can get out there."

"Same here," said Wheeljack, "I know my way around Decepticon tech."

"I will come too," Ma-Ti volunteered, "I can still pick up your ring."

They all looked out toward the Decepticon vessel. And this time they could make out towering, angular figures on the deck.

"Perhaps we can delay them," said Kwame, and thrust out his fist, "Earth!"

The ground shuddered distantly, and the water in front of the enemy vessel turned pale turquoise where it had been dark blue.

"I have raised the reef," Kwame said breathlessly, "At least some of it. The water is now too shallow for them to pass without circling round."

"Which will make them a target and cost them time," Linka said, "Well done, Kwame!"

"Their first attack will be from the air!" Optimus Prime reached for his rifle, "Stand ready!"

Loud mechanical groans vibrated through the raiding cruiser's hull as it slowed and stopped, struggling not to run aground.

Megatron glowered toward Hope Island. Behind him, Soundwave, Starscream, Thundercracker and Brawl stood with Dr. Blight and Zarm, and Maleficent as well.

"So," Megatron growled, "The Autobots and the Planeteers both stand against us."

"Without all their rings," said Blight gleefully, "they're weakened! We can finally be rid of them!"

"Hope Island," Zarm said softly, and there was an unusual tone of wistfulness in his voice. "Megatron, permit me to offer them terms of surrender!"

"You disappoint me, godling," Megatron said, "I thought you had more steel in you. But Prime will not surrender. Never that. But he has only flesh-creature allies and a small force. Here, in the wild reaches of the galaxy I have him!"

"It is a glorious day for the Decepticons," Maleficent declared. Blight gave him a slightly odd look.

"And for us, MAL, baby," she said, slightly archly.

"Oh," said Maleficent quickly, "yes indeed!"

"I will give you the satisfaction of planting our flag of victory on the island, Zarm," Megatron said, "But not before I break Optimus Prime and his Autobots and allies. This Gaia is your affair."

Zarm smiled humourlessly, "Thank you."

"Maleficent, are you ready to join the Decepticons in battle?"

"Oh yes," he wheedled, "at your command, Megatron."

"We will strike first from the air, and then launch our landing forces. Prepare yourselves."

There was a sound of weapons charging, and Soundwave's voice commanding, "Rumble, Lazerbeak, Ravage: Prepare for battle. Operation: warfare." His chest compartment sprang open and all three of his dependents sprang out to Soundwave's chorus of "Eject, eject, eject!"

In the distance, Megatron saw the shapes and energy signatures of Autobots. Optimus Prime, towering and red was most evident. He could also see the specks of heat that marked the flesh-creatures, and a hazy, colourful energy pattern. Gaia, he supposed. They stood out like targets on a wall.

Without a word, Megatron swung his massive arm cannon up and took aim at the rocky coast of the island. A brilliant violet flash emerged and part of the shoreline exploded into blinding dust and rubble.

He roared, "Decepticons! Transform and rise up!"

Wheeler picked himself up. He was covered in dirt and sand, and a choking, hot dust hung in the air, dimming the sun. He blinked hard and yelled, "Is everyone okay? Linka?"

"I'm here," she said, coughing, "Wind!"

The sudden breeze cleared his vision just in time to see two jets, a sea plane and a mechanized condor all screaming down on a strafing run toward them.

"Take cover!" Optimus yelled.

The Planeteers scattered and the Autobots raised their weapons, firing skyward. The noise was deafening. But it was nothing compared to the answering fire as the Decepticons' weapons blazed down on them.

The turf was scorched by laser fire, and a rocket from Thundercracker shattered a clutch of trees. Lazerbeak caught Jazz a glancing blow and he stumbled.

Linka jinked sideways, rolled and raised her ring skyward, "Wind!"

A typhoon blew up. Thundercracker and Starscream were too powerful to be badly disturbed by it, but Lazerbeak wasn't and Starscream squawked with rage and rolled in midair to avoid colliding with the out-of-control condor.

But Maleficent was flying below the swirling currents, and bore down on Linka, launching a missile.

Linka froze, but Perceptor, in tank form, raced alongside and fired his main gun with precision. The missile veered and exploded in a greasy fireball. Gobs of burning gunk floated on the sea or clung to the land, exuding a harsh black smoke.

Perceptor transformed just in time for Maleficent to transform, drop from the air and tackle him. Arcee strode over, grabbed Maleficent and pulled him off Perceptor, but in so doing she turned him so his pontoons/shoulder cannons faced her. One went off, catching her in the neck and sending her staggering back. Maleficent transformed back and took off. The airborne Decepticons soared upward, becoming dots in the sky.

There was a momentary lull while the Planeteers took stock. The immediate area of Hope Island was scarred with burns, tread marks and smoke. The smoke made their eyes sting, their noses run and their chests burn. Dr. Blight had put her mark on MAL's new body.

"Is everyone alright," Kwame called. The others answered in the affirmative, but Linka was standing by Arcee, who was down on her knees, clutching her throat and holding oddly still, "Arcee, are…are you alright?"

Arcee did something that might have been a cough, although it sounded more like a speaker having a power surge, and then said, in a voice that sounded like it had gone through a malfunctioning auto-tuner, "Nothing Ratchet can't put right later."

Ma-Ti, was near the wrecked trees, in the shadow of Optimus Prime. He placed his hand on his temple and said, "Heart!"

He sent his thoughts out, discernible to the Planeteers but not to the Autobots: Gaia, he sent, Are you alright?

Gaia had vanished with Megatron's opening salvo, and now her voice was worryingly faint, "I…I endure, Ma-Ti. But I feel the hurt Hope Island has suffered."

Ma-Ti changed the direction of his power, and suddenly the forest grew quieter. A flock of red ibis suddenly took flight, heading inland. "I am getting the animals as far from the battle as I can," he explained to Planeteer and Autobot alike, "But Gaia cannot endure much more of this!"

"They'll be back soon," Optimus said, "And they'll be bringing their ground forces too!"

"Wheeljack!" Arcee yelled, "Gi! Wheeler! Ma-Ti!"

She led them to the edge of the headland, "This'll be our chance!"

As Wheeler caught them up, a hand restrained him. He looked round to see Linka, wide-eyed and looked slightly dazed.

"You stay here," he said, "You can hold off their fliers the best"

"Da," she said dully, "I know. Just…be careful, Yankee."

"Here they come!" Jazz warned. This time, all the Decepticon fliers were coming in low, and one had a large van slung underneath it. An amphibious tank was also roaring towards the shore.

"Covering fire!" Optimus shouted. Ratchet, Jazz and Perceptor all started blazing at the oncoming Deceptions. Arcee, with some difficulty, transformed. Wheeljack followed, but Gi and Wheeler both boarded Arcee. They just had time to belt in before both Autobots ramped off the headland and hit the water running, so to speak.

Above them, the roar and whine of lasers and rockets was overwhelmed by the roar of engines, and a deep shadow darkened the sky for an instant.

Gi looked anxiously over her shoulder. Arcee's voice snapped out of the radio, "Stay focused, gang. From what I hear, we get your ring back, it'll be the best thing all round."

The Autobots, along with Kwame, Ma-Ti and Linka, had formed a line on Prime's command trailer. Commander Clash was on the trailer itself, operating a twin laser cannon turret, following a brief tutorial in its operation from Jazz.

Linka was conjuring a gale, which had thrown most of the Decepticon rockets off target and into the sea. The Autobots were putting up a wall of fire which the advancing Decepticons were weaving around as they flew in.

Kwame privately felt a desire to run and hide. The amount of collateral damage (a phrase he despised) they were inflicting on Hope Island was increasingly horrifying.

"How are you holding up back there," called Ratchet, who was closest to Linka.

"I…cannot keep this up much longer," she gasped.

"I'm afraid that, one way or another, you won't need to."

No sooner had Ratchet spoken than, to the horror of all, a tank appeared, crawling laboriously over the ramp of rubble that part of the headland had been reduced to.

"Look out!" Kwame cried, and tackled Linka sideways as the tank fired and Ratchet was sent somersaulting backwards.

"Slag," said Jazz, "Is there a doctor in the house?"

"Shut up," Ratchet groaned.

"Perceptor, give me some cover," yelled Jazz.

Perceptor's autocannon peppered the tank's forward armour, with alarmingly little effect. Jazz transformed and roared toward the tank. He transformed again, jumped up onto the tank and yanked its turret around, away from his fellows. He hefted his carbine with his other hand and pressed it against the chassis. "Don't try anything funny, Decepticon!"

How that might have worked, they wouldn't find out. A jet, with a SWAT truck slung under it flew in low, and knocked Jazz off the tank. Soundwave detached, rolled and transformed, deployed Ravage and Rumble as he did so.

Thundercracker transformed on the left and attacked Perceptor. Starscream began to change as the tank, Brawl, reassembled into a hulking pile of munitions on legs.

"Earth!" Kwame aimed his power. Starscream was halfway through transforming and falling on his feet, when a pinnacle of rock erupted under him. He flipped over backwards and landed on his head instead.

"You jumped-up flesh creature," Starscream raved, "Brawl! Scrap them!"

A missile let fly from Brawl. Linka gasped, "Wind!" The missile veered off course and caught Thundercracker a glancing hit.

Linka let out a relieved breath, and had nothing left to scream with as Ravage sprang towards her. Ratchet stepped in just in time, caught Ravage in mid-leap and flung him back.

The Decepticons were off balance and Clash was laying down fire from the trailer platform.

Optimus Prime was firing on Brawl, but halted as a brilliant violet blast blew the turret to smithereens. "Clash!" Optimus called. The Commander was down, but Ma-Ti assured everyone he still lived.

This came as cold comfort as a massive craft, something like a jet fighter, but not of any design of Earth.

"Megatron!" Optimus exclaimed, raising his rifle.

Megatron's feet hitting the ground was like bomb going off. "Prime!"

Kwame and Linka had not got a good look at Megatron up to this point. He was bigger than any of the other Decepticons, and his tone of contemptuous politeness at Optimus Prime was terrifying.

Jazz fired his carbine at Megatron. It barely even fazed him. Megatron's reaction was to raise his arm cannon and fire. Jazz was thrown backward, showering the nearby Planeteers in dirt. Ratchet rushed to tend to him.

"You've done this world enough harm, Megatron," Optimus declared, advancing.

"I haven't even begun yet, Prime," Megatron boasted, "With my allies on this world, the Decepticons will have enough fuel to conquer Cybertron and any other world that stands against us!"

"Magnificent," said a faint voice. Kwame, watching from near a palm tree, wasn't immediately sure who had said that. He couldn't sense the corresponding emotion from anyone, Planeteer, Autobot or Decepticon. Suddenly, he realized the only being whose mind he couldn't sense was Maleficent, who had landed a little behind the other Decepticons, being slower. He was regarding Megatron with a slack expression of wonder. Kwame felt a twinge of disgust.

"This island is mine, Prime," Megatron continued, "As are you! Decepticons, attack!"


	9. Chapter 9

The outer rim of the raider flight deck was too steep to ramp over. Wheeljack transformed, clambered up onto the deck and then transformed back, using his tow cable to pull Arcee aboard.

"I can't believe Brawl didn't spot us," Arcee said. "Gear-for-brains juggernaut…"

Gi, Ma-Ti and Wheeler climbed out and Arcee transformed. Wheeler said, "Let's just be glad and get moving before anybody notices us."

With trepidation, Gi pointed to the elevator platform, "This way."

Gi, Wheeler, Ma-Ti and Arcee moved onto the platform while Wheeljack hacked the control column.

The elevator descended slowly. Gi was trembling, and Wheeler grimaced. "Hang in there, Gi. We'll take them."

"I don't want payback, Wheeler. I just want to stop the fight before Hope Island is ruined. If I hadn't lost my ring this wouldn't be happening."

"Hey, just be grateful you got the word out and didn't end up a pile of dust." Arcee chided her. "More powerful Autobots than any of us haven't done so well as you as Decepticon prisoners."

The lift descended past the room full of energon cubes, which elicited an intrigued noise from Wheeljack. Ma-Ti scanned the rooms beyond with his power, and found nothing. Then they arrived back in the bay where Gi and Clash had been held prisoner.

"This is where they took my ring," she said. The space seemed even bigger than before now that MAL's new body was no longer present. The stairway in the far wall had been repaired.

"You see it?" Arcee asked.

Gi scanned the room, "No, I don't. Ma-Ti?"

"It isn't in this room, but it is nearby," Ma-Ti said, grimacing with concentration.

"The next room," Arcee said, "Come on!"

The elevator had doors on both sides. Wheeljack was still on the platform. "Hang, on…okay, I got it."

And instant later, Wheeljack cried out, there was a clanging and metallic commotion, and he cried, "Watch out!" A moment later Swindle stalked into the bay, rifle in hand.

Arcee raised her weapon, "Take cover!"

There really was nowhere to take cover, but the three Planeteers retreated as Arcee moved between them and the Decepticon.

"Sorry, Autobot," Swindle gloated, "Starscream's not the only one with a null ray!"

The strobe light discharge sent Arcee reeling and she crashed, half-paralyzed against a wall.

"That's two Autobots dealt with. Now for the flesh creatures!"

"Run!" Gi yelled, and the trio sprinted past Swindle, Wheeler punched the air to his left. "Fire!"

An expanding beam blazed across the side of Swindle's face and arm. Wheeler kept it on him as they moved. Swindle staggered, raising his arms defensively. As it hit his chest, what would have been his windscreen in jeep form bubbled and cracked. Wheeler tripped and toppled over, but managed to keep the beam on Swindle's legs without setting his own jeans on fire. He final had to disengage the beam and roll to avoid a blast from Swindle's weapon. But he'd made it count: Swindle's armour on his chest, arms and lower legs was glowing orange.

Gi grabbed Wheeler and half-dragged him into the lift. Beyond, a bars had slammed down on the far door, and Wheeljack was stuck on the other side of them.

Gi pushed Wheeler and Ma-Ti against the bars. "Wheeler, hit Swindle again!"

The glowing Decepticon came in view and Wheeler obliged. Swindle covered his face, heating his forearm armour. Gi reached for the elevator controls.

"Gi!" Wheeljack shouted, "Here!"

Gi turned. Wheeljack had his hand open just beyond the bars. Gi's ring lay on his palm.

"This it?"

"Yes," Gi snatched it up through the bars, "Keep it up, Wheeler."

"Whatever you're going to do," Wheeler said through gritted teeth, "do it fast."

The radiant heat from Swindle was beginning to make them perspire. "Protect your eyes," Gi shouted, "Water!'

She thrust her fist up toward the sky at the top of the shaft. There was a brief moment where nothing happened, then a cascade of seawater filled the space, pouring down like a water fall.

Ma-Ti could feel spray on his arms, but before the water hit them, Gi bent it out at Swindle. They all looked away before a hot, stinging wave of steam rolled over them. Ma-Ti felt his skin blistering and yelled.

The water stopped and settled, sloshing around the floor. The air felt like a sauna. As the steam cleared, they all looked up, wincing as their scalded arms objected.

Swindle was lying on his back on the floor near the far wall. His armour was making clicking sounds as it cooled. His boxy outer structure, going instantly from hot to cool, had warped so much that he couldn't move! He twitched and groaned but couldn't get up.

Water beading on her outer structure, Arcee came into the lift. "Smartly done," she said, sounding dazed.

"Are you alright, Arcee?" Ma-Ti asked.

"Yeah," she said, "that rifle must be a prototype. Wears off pretty fast. Wheeljack?"

"Still in one piece. Get back up on deck and go help the others!"

"We're not leaving you down here!" Wheeler said.

"These bars are locked. I'd need a Decepticon override code. I'm good, but not that good!"

No sooner had he said it, then the bars began to rise!

"There," said a voice, "now go."

The Planeteers and Arcee turned around. Zarm was standing just outside the lift. He looked sour-faced. "You should probably hurry. The battle is not going well for you."

The Planeteers were dumbstruck. "Why," Gi gasped.

"I intend someday to defeat you, Planeteers. But I don't intend to win only to have my trophies claimed by Megatron. You'll live to fight another day. And if you'll excuse me…"

He walked forward and the Planeteers parted to admit him. He walked past Wheeljack and into the opposite bay, which, they could now see, contained the geodesic sphere which was his spaceship.

Wheeljack activated the controls and the elevator rose again.


	10. Chapter 10

As Zarm had said, the battle for Hope Island was going poorly. Several parts of the forest of this area of the island were on fire. The turf had been ravaged and the front line had retreated to within line-of-sight with the Planeteers' cottages and Gaia's own dwelling cave.

Linka threw another gale-force gust at Lazerbeak, but it was getting harder to summon that much force and get it on target. The Autobots and Decepticons on the ground were fighting hand to hand. Clash was stuck behind the lines, fighting Ravage off with a pole from the wrecked turret.

Kwame and Linka found each other in the mayhem. Just ahead of them, Optimus Prime knocked Megatron over, obliterating a growth of flowers. Megatron's armour was dented or split in a few placed from blows from the axe extruding from Prime's left arm. But Prime had considerably more damage from the flail in Megatron's, and had taken a glancing hit from his massive arm cannon. Thundercracker blindsided Prime and shot him. Linka gasped, "Wind" and the churned dirt blew up into Thundercracker's face, blinding him. But Megatron was up again and swinging his flail at Prime, who backed off, trying to get a clear swing.

"Okay, Planet-pests," said a tinny voice on their right, "You wanna rumble with Rumble?"

The small Decepticon deployed his pile-drivers and slammed them into the ground. Behind Kwame and Linka, the ground split in the ensuing earthquake. Backed against it, the two were horrified to see Brawl hulking forward, Soundwave tackling Prowl out of the way.

"Quickly, Linka, jump!"

They both were in good training, but it was a close call. They had just steadied, leaning on each other, when Brawl flung a shell at them. The explosion threw them apart.

"No!" Optimus Prime cried, distracted by the Planeteers' cry, and then staggered into the side of the crystal mountain as Megatron's flail grazed his head. His mask was dented.

Prime had more anger in him than many thought. It propelled him forward again, slamming the head of his axe into Megatron's face, and then firing two rounds into his chest. His armour weathered it, though, and he had enough clearance to wield his cannon. Prime was blown back into the hillside. Dazed, he spared a sorrowful glance for the trees he'd just flattened.

"I'm tempted to keep you online long enough to watch me gut this planet, but that would be very poor strategy. Go to the slag heap, Optimus Prime!"

"Kwame!" Linka called, coughing. "Talk to me!"

"I'm here," he groaned, "but I cannot do much more than talk!"

Linka found him, clutching the long laceration in his thigh.

Rumble was advancing, looking ready to leap over onto them. Kwame shouted, "Earth!" The ground shook, Rumble overbalanced and fell into the trench he'd made. Then Kwame closed it, trapping him.

Without a word, Ratchet staggered forward, grabbed Rumble in a headlock, and pulled. The Decepticon's legs tore away from his body. But Maleficent came up from behind and shot Ratchet, who sank to his knees and dropped Rumble.

"Planeteers!" Clash dealt a ferocious blow to Ravage and tried to run to assist them, but then he keeled forward, numb from Starscream's null ray.

Gaia, Kwame sent with his thoughts, Stop them. We heard you speaking with Prime. Do what you must to protect the Earth!

Kwame! Linka! Another voice broke in: Ma-Ti, We're back on the deck. Gi has her ring!

Kwame wanted to faint with relief, but even more he wanted to say, "Let our powers combine! Earth!"

The rest of the sequence followed, Ma-Ti coordinating it.

"Fire!"  
>"Wind!"<p>

"Water!"

"Heart!"

The ring's beams soared skyward, and as they met there was a thunderclap, and the battle below halted as a voice boomed, "By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!"

Planeteers chorused, "Go Planet!"

"What in the name of the inferno?" Megatron exclaimed, looking up.

Captain Planet came roaring out of the sky, straight down on Megatron. Clanging off his helment, Planet seized Megatron's arm cannon, "Hey, I've got a no-weapons policy on this island." Megatron howled with pain as the cannon was torn off his arm. Planet took flight again as Optimus rose.

"Go Planet," said the Autobot leader, and swing his axe into Megatron's face.

"Captain Planet!" Linka yelled, as Maleficent advanced on her and Kwame.

"Oh, no you don't," Starscream shrieked, aiming up at Captain Planet. But his aim was spoiled as a shot exploded on his arm. Wheeljack leaped onto shore, followed by Arcee. Wheeler, Gi and Ma-Ti spilled out and Arcee transformed.

Captain Planet swept down on Maleficent, saying, "Wow, MAL, you're really flying high these days!"  
>"Take your own advice," the AI replied, and his shoulder gunpontoons spewed a noxious smog cloud.

"Whoa! Did I mention 'No Smoking?'"

"Joke while you can, Captain Planet," Maleficent snarled, "the Deceptic-aaaaaah!"

The new Decepticon spasmed and fell. Ratchet rose up from behind, some crackling tool in his hand. "You're just like any 'Con. You talk too much."

With a thankful wave, the Captain shot backward. Arcee and Wheeljack had their backs to the sea, and Brawl had all his weapons trained on them. Or he did, until Captain Planet slammed into the back of his head. He batted the missile turret on Brawl's shoulder, causing it to track down, so that when it went off, Brawl shot himself in the foot. Captain Planet flew clear as, laughing, Arcee and Wheeljack put a barrage into Brawl's face and belly.

Thundercracker had a boulder broken over his head by Jazz. He staggered forward to retaliate, but Perceptor sprang in front of him, tripping him up.

"Shoot that godling!" Megratron yelled in rage.

"Unable to lack target, Megatron," Soundwave sounded almost alarmed as he tried to get the speeding hero in his sights. Just as he got a lock, Planet bore down on Starscream, grabbed his weapon arm and yanked him onto one knee in a half-nelson. Soundwave promptly shot Starscream, shattering the jet canopy that formed his chestplate.

"Soundwave, you fool!"

"Best shot he ever made, I bet," Captain Planet said. He jumped up, grabbing Lazerbeak from the sky and bending his wing over.

Arcee and Wheeljack transformed again, and ferried the Planeteers behind the front lines. They ran Ravage over as they went.

Captain Planet finally came to rest above the battlefield, and said, "You guys make quite a mess. Hate to blow you off, but…" He took a deep breath, and his exhale was a hurricane, sending the Decepticons staggering. Optimus Prime too was caught in the blast and stumbled.

Megatron, on his knees, glared hatefully at Optimus Prime for a moment before he cried, "Decepticons, retreat!"

He grabbed his dismembered cannon and transformed, screaming over the sea. In a crazy dash, the others followed, Lazerbeak and Ravage returning to their compartment in Soundwave's chest. As Soundwave transformed, Captain Planet swept in, wreched open his back door, and hurled Rumble and his detached legs inside. "And take your trash with you!" He got clear and let Starscream pick him up and fly back to the raiding cruiser at sea. As they returned, a small sphere shot off the Decepticon deck and into the blue sky…


	11. Chapter 11

As the sun set over the Pacific, the Decepticons lay or sat on the deck while Soundwave, Dr. Blight, Maleficent and Starscream did their best to patch up the injuries. Swindle was in stasis lock, needing a full overhaul to be any use again.

Soundwave finished reattaching Megatron's arm cannon. Megatron was on his feet, but his face and armour were still dented and torn.

"_Reintegration completed, Megatron_," Soundwave intoned, "_Test recommended_."

"Ow!" Rumble snapped as Maleficent applied a torch to his wiring, "Watch it, you bucket of bolts!"

"I'm doing my best," Maleficent whined, "I am not familiar with this…magnificent technology. Not yet anyway."

"You were a great help," sneered Starscream, trying artlessly to straighten Lazerbeak's wing. Lazerbeak screeched and snapped at him. "You were about as combat effective as an oil drum falling off a cliff!"

"I'm sure you were wonderful, MAL," Blight said, trying to repair the joint on Ravage's leg.

"Maleficent," snapped the seaplane transformer, and then appealed to Megatron. "Great Megatron, the Planeteers have stymied me many times before, but they are not invincible. We can get more energon, destroy more power plants! I am ready to serve you in this!"

Dr. Blight glared up at her AI companion, groveling to Megatron. The Decepticon Leader looked thoughtfully toward the island dwindling in the distance. "Your willing service is noted, Maleficent. I have a task for you now, in fact."

Maleficent nodded ecstatically, "I owe you my life for this new body you've given me! Tell me what I can do for you, Megatron? What service can I perform?"

"Test subject."

Megatron swung round, took aim with his reattached cannon, and fired.

For over a second, energy crackled through Maleficent, forming a violet aura around him. Then it faded, and the grey sculpture of the new Decepticon cooled, and then crumbled away into silicate dust, settling on the deck or scattering over the sea.

"MAL!" Dr. Blight screamed, "MAL, baby!"

"This Captain Planet has made fools of us," Megatron roared, "And our supposed allies are traitorous and inept! The Autobots' knowledge of this world and its defenders make it useless to us. We're leaving."

"Good riddance, you walking malfunctions!" Blight was incandescent.

"I suggest you bring your ship up and be gone soon," Starscream snarled, "We do not place much importance on a steady air supply in space!"

By the time Blight's airship was on its way, the Decepticon ship was nearly to the lowest clouds.

"Those miserable, backstabbing, interloping robots!"

"Do you mean the Autobots or the Decepticons, Doctor?"

"Both! Either! Prime was just a stupid idealist, but Meg…" She froze, then whirled around to face the monitor on its arm, "MAL?" Blight asked weakly.

The monitor switched on and the usual sinister face appeared. "Yes, indeed, my dear Doctor. And I apologize profusely for my adverse behavior. I was led astray by superficial bribes by those who wished to use me for their own ends. I am your eternal confidante, Doctor Blight!"

"Oh, MAL," Blight fairly cuddled the monitor, "You're forgiven. But how did you get back here?"

"The weapon Megatron used took long enough that I was able to download back to our ship before…." He trailed off.

"Clever MAL! Let's go lay low for a while, until every robot has cleared off this planet."

"I heartily agree."

Hope Island was a mess. The rest of the day had been spent extinguishing fires and removing the toxic detritus and metallic debris from the battle.

Ma-Ti was sitting with Gaia near the crystal cave, holding each other. She was weakened by the damage but in no further danger.

"Well," said Wheeler, dusting his hands off as the Planeteers and Autobots gathered, "we've done all we can for now."

"The rest is up to the plants, the soil, and time," Kwame said, a touch sadly.

Gaia nodded tiredly, "Yes, it will. Our struggle to better this world and protect its environment has seldom come so close to home, though. I've never been forced to consider scouring this world of its enemies…never expected to have this island blighted," her lips quirked, "by war. I've never expected to consider sacrificing my island's animals, my home, my Planeteers…"

The Planeteers were alarmed to see tears welling in the Earth Spirit's eyes.

"Oh, Gaia," Gi wailed, and rushed forward, putting her arm around Gaia and taking her hand.

Kwame knelt and said, "Gaia, we understand the risks. We fought willingly."

"There is no point in living if even Hope Island is destroyed," Linka said stoutly.

Gaia hugged Ma-Ti tightly, and stroked Gi's hair with her other hand. "My brave Planeteers…"

"Brave they are," Optimus Prime said, "Your valour honours Earth and Cybertron both. But, we cannot remain here. We're not compatible with the local environment."

"We are so sorry to have brought such destruction to your world," Prowl said earnestly.

"If this is what your war does here," Linka said softly, "I cannot imagine the conditions on Cybertron."

"Lucky you," sighed Arcee.

"We shall return to our ship and be on our way. But know this, you have friends among Autobot kind."

"Always happy to meet a new friend," said Captain Planet, alighting and shaking hands with Optimus. Somehow only Captain Planet could make that seem natural. "You have friends here on Earth too, Optimus Prime."

"We are truly blessed, then," said Perceptor, smiling.

"Farewell, Autobots," Kwame said. "I hope that sometime soon your world knows peace."

"As do we," said Prime. "And someday, perhaps we can visit your world in peace as well."

"And not ruin the lawn," Ratchet said drily.

"Know that the sight of your world in peril has strengthened our resolve to stop Megatron and bring back peace," Optimus Prime declared.

"And we're still dedicted to protecting this planet," Linka replied, addressing herself to Gaia as well as Prime.

"I'm sure you can do it," Captain Planet beamed. "Planeteers for the environment, or Autobots for peace: the Power is YOURS!"


End file.
